1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus for, for example, an image scanner, copying machine, or facsimile apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an image reading apparatus, for example, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) type image reading apparatus, which can successively read stacked sheet-like media, is available. The ADF type image reading apparatus separates sheet-like media each having a predetermined size one by one, and automatically and successively feeds the separated media to execute image reading processing. Hence, the ADF type image reading apparatus can automatically convey and read media in large quantities.
On the other hand, media such as thin media, film-like media, or cards, which are different from generally used paper sheets, are often not suited to automatic feeding. Hence, the following apparatus has been proposed. That is, in this apparatus, media, which are not suited to automatic feeding, are manually fed from a discharge port side, and a conveying direction of a conveying system is switched to an opposite direction, so as to allow to introduce the cards and to read their images (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 9-284478 and 2008-270954).
A size in a widthwise direction of the discharge port of the image reading apparatus is designed to be able to discharge media having a maximum size, which is planned to be used in that image reading apparatus. For this reason, for media having a small size such as cards, the width of the discharge port is often too large. As a result, when a medium having a small size is manually inserted from the discharge port, since it is skewed, a problem is posed for discharging of that medium, and an image cannot often be appropriately read.